Edwin Alemany, alleged killer of Amy Lord, sent for new competency evaluation after suicide attempt

Edwin J. Alemany hears whispering voices in his head and also tried to kill himself with his bare hands in the past 24 hours, according to his attorney and a court psychologist who examined the accused killer of Amy E. Lord in a West Roxbury courthouse today.

Alemany’s disturbed mental status led West Roxbury Municipal Court Judge Kathleen E. Coffey to send Alemany to Bridgewater State Hospital for a new competency evaluation after his arraignment on murder charges, the second time Alemany has been sent to the secure psychiatric facility since his arrest by Boston police July 25.

Coffey ordered the new evaluation after listening to Suffolk Assistant District Attorney John Pappas detail the kidnapping and murder of Lord, one of three attacks on women in South Boston that Alemany allegedly committed during a 20-hour span in late July.

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Pappas said that Lord, a 24-year-old native of Wilbraham, routinely left her home on Dorchester Street at 5:30 a.m. and then would take an MBTA bus to a downtown Boston gym, a routine she shared with an unidentified friend.

“But, she did not get on the bus. She did not go to the gymnasium,’’ Pappas told the judge explaining the attack on July 23. “She did not go to work that day.’’

Prior to the assault on Lord, Pappas said video surveillance shows a silhouette pacing back and forth in front of Lord’s building and then is seen making an abrupt turn toward the building’s entrance when a second silhouette walks out of the building.

The two then turn and enter the building for 12 minutes—the Globe has been told that Lord was beaten inside the vestibule of her home during that time—before they are seen exiting the building together.

Pappas said Alemany forced Lord into her black Jeep Cherokee and then forced her to go to ATMs at five Boston banks between 6:03 a.m. and 6:47 a.m.

Pappas said Alemany murdered Lord at the Stony Brook Reservation in Hyde Park. She had been stabbed numerous times, beaten, and strangled, Pappas said.

Alemany was alone when he was spotted driving the Jeep around 8 a.m. near the intersections of Albano and Washington streets in Hyde Park, Pappas said.

Lord’s Jeep was found burning in South Boston around 8:30 a.m., he said.

After the murder, officials said, Alemany spent $400 in cash at the Rotary Variety in South Boston where he bought a cellphone and paid some cellphone bills, Pappas said. Pappas said the lottery had no record of making a payout to Alemany.

Four young women were in court on behalf of Lord’s family, officials said. They declined comment.

After Pappas summarized the investigation, defense attorney Jeffrey Denner told the judge that his client had tried to kill himself by tearing open arteries with his bare hands. He also said the suicide attempt left Alemany with self-inflicted scratches to his neck and arms.

Alemany, who kept his head bent down while lawyers talked about him, had a visible gash on the right side of his neck today. His lawyers said Alemany was at the Nashua Street Jail on Wednesday and was being checked every 15 minutes; he attacked himself before midnight.

Coffey ordered court psychologist Helene Presskreischer to examine Alemany. After meeting with him, she said he is hearing voices whispering in his head and that she was concerned he remained a threat to himself.

“I don’t think he is entirely safe at the jail,’’ she said.

On Wednesday, Alemany appeared in South Boston Municipal Court where he pleaded not guilty to attacking two women—attacks that took place between murdering Lord—and was ordered held on $3 million cash bail.

He was arrested for those two attacks on July 25, but his arraignment was postponed while he underwent his first competency evaluation at Bridgewater.

Edwin Alemany’s parents are on the right. (Wendy Maeda/Globe Staff)

In court on Wednesday, Alemany’s parents and about 20 relatives and friends attended the arraignment. His parents are at the West Roxbury courthouse this morning along with a half dozen other people, all of whom declined comment as they entered the building.

Denner and Alemany’s family have told the Globe that he has a long history of mental illness. Alemany’s parents stood behind Denner as he spoke to reporters, but declined comment.

Not guilty pleas to the murder and kidnapping charges were entered on Alemany’s behalf and he was ordered held without bail. He is now scheduled to return to court Nov. 17.